Posts by Charles Wood73

wiredcanyon94 said:Only someone who just got banned from this little corner of the Earth five minutes ago would ask a question like that.

The entire history of the human race is basically just one long series of religious wars. Since we've been around, religious intolerance has been baked into our DNA.
What kind of question is that? Were they conflict-prone? Yeah, they were nothing *but* conflict-prone throughout all of human history. Anyone telling you otherwise is lying.
Or they're just recycling empty clichés. Take Christians, for example; they love to claim they "respect" other faiths. But if someone walked up and introduced themselves as a Satanist, most of them would jump at the chance to crucify them if they could get away with it.

😁

She was referring to the 'Religion' sub-forum. But yeah, those kinds of conflicts have always existed there too; they've just drifted into the background lately.

The original poster was really just hunting for the right name for the phenomenon itself, though Modovlje decided to tack it onto the title later on.

Every single piece of sufficiently advanced technology eventually hits that inevitable threshold where things start getting a little weird... blah, blah, blah. 🥱

https://tectales.com/bionics-robotic...-thoughts.html

Arthur Campbell2 said:Telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, synchronicity, or any other flavor of the paranormal just don't exist—or, if I want to be incredibly generous and open to new ideas—they haven't been reliably proven by science yet.

Everything you guys are describing here is just subjective experience. Those experiences aren't proof of anything; they could be caused by all sorts of things—coincidence, faulty memory, bad interpretation, you name it.
Take me, for example. I had some interesting out-of-body sensations when I was falling asleep once, but I didn't walk away thinking I was actually leaving my body. It was obvious to me it was just a byproduct of drifting off to sleep.

Trying to argue based on "something weird and unexplainable happened to me once" is about as logical as taking a psychoactive substance and deciding parallel universes exist just because you saw some trippy stuff.
Just because something is unexplainable to you doesn't mean it can't be explained. I already gave a quick rundown of potential explanations for these "weird coincidences" in my last post, so I'm not going to repeat myself.

But hey, if you still think the universe, other people, or some kind of "collective consciousness" is trying to talk to you, then please, do us all a favor and ask them for the winning Powerball numbers. 😁

Well, obviously we're talking about subjective experiences. What else would we be doing on a forum? 🤷

Olivia Jackson64 said:I get hit by these "angel numbers"—days where I can’t seem to live without seeing sequences like 1717, 1414, 0909, or 2323. Then there's a phase where they vanish entirely before returning again. To be clear—it isn't some conscious effort to check my phone or the clock constantly; it just happens at the exact moment I happen to look up.

I don't see any particular significance in it, nor do I feel like anything is actually happening, which is why it's starting to get frustrating. It offers no insight, yet it keeps repeating 🙂

I've also noticed a secondary pattern during these phases—if I visualize a specific wake-up time in the evening, I'll find myself awake two or three minutes before it. Even if I set an impossibly early goal, say 5:00 AM, it works. Normally, even a loud alarm won't budge me 🙂

Anyone else deal with something similar?

That second part is a perfectly normal phenomenon, and the first part is something I experience too, though it doesn't frustrate me; I actually find it somewhat charming, even if I don't attach any profound significance to it, other than perhaps the idea that "things happen as they are meant to happen, even if what happens is nothing at all."

Speaking of those kinds of temporal phenomena, I had someone I knew who could always tell what time it was without ever looking at a clock. Sometimes he’d be spot on to the minute, but more often it was a rough estimate within a five-to-ten-minute window. For example, we’d be at the beach all day, his watch tucked away somewhere in a bag (this was back before everyone had smartphones), and you’d ask him the time. He’d give you an answer, and then, just for the hell of it, you’d dig through the bag to check, only to find he was exactly right. Even those "telepathic" moments worked for him occasionally, though more often than not, he’d miss the mark entirely.

As for the stuff mentioned above... it's a lottery, and I never win. I’ll buy a ticket here and there, just enough to give myself something to daydream about regarding how I'll spend the windfall, but nothing ever materializes. I don't predict currency fluctuations either, so my supposed "ability" (if you can even call it that) is completely unmonetizable.

Olivia Jackson64 said:The thing is, someone else eventually passes that info along... it’s not like the TV is transmitting it directly into your brain via telepathy.😁

@Andrew Doyle, maybe she reached out from another world—just a thought on why there hasn't been a response... you didn't exchange pleasantries, so the loop remains open. That's my take.

It isn't really "someone else," though; it’s more like anyone with a functioning brain who happens to catch a headline on CNN, scrolls past a story on a news site, or sees a blurb on social media. Personally, I don't follow any of that—I don't even own a television, and I rarely find myself debating current events with people... I just seem to pick things up from the general zeitgeist or whatever you want to call it. For instance, I "caught wind" of that private plane crash the other day entirely by accident. I was actually dwelling on a similar tragedy from years ago, decided to do a quick Google search to refresh my memory, and there it was, staring me right in the face in a fresh news alert.

I’m inclined to agree. There are moments when I find myself spiraling down these deep, obsessive rabbit holes about certain topics, just ruminating on them for hours, only to realize later—after stumbling upon a headline or a snippet on a news feed I rarely bother checking—that the rest of the country has already moved on to something else entirely.

It’s happened before, it’s happening right now, and—if history is any kind of reliable guide—it’s absolutely going to happen again. 😬

Laura Castillo6 said:Confidence is something you can build up over the years, bit by bit. It’s funny, though—it seems like nobody actually wants to put in the work on themselves to get there.

I think I read somewhere that self-improvement fundamentally involves identifying and stripping away cognitive distortions—you know, those mental traps like overgeneralization where we start using words like "always," "never," "nowhere," or "nobody" to describe everything.

If we’re following that line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, does that mean introverts and people dealing with social anxiety actually have a biological imperative for solitude?

darkraven said:Honestly, I get that all the time too. Sometimes everything shifts to yellow, and on the rare occasions when it happens, it’s like this weird, faint brownish tint. It feels exactly like I'm staring through some colored lens or a filter.
Anyone here actually have a clue what might be causing this? 🤔

That’s just a sign that you aren't in Kansas anymore. 😬

Maybe it's sepia? You know, those lower realms, or perhaps a longing for the past. Or blue on blue... that whole "dreamtime" concept where reality exists before material creation even begins, blending the past, present, and future into one. I’ve heard people talk about shamanic patterns, though I wouldn't know much about theosophical stuff.

darkraven said:Now, an OBE is its own beast entirely. It involves a specific kind of dissociation where the brain fundamentally shifts how it constructs the sense of self. And honestly? It can happen under circumstances that have absolutely nothing to do with sleeping.

The weird part about astral projection is that the induction process can look identical to WilD. Both involve trying to consciously fall asleep, both hit that same MABA state and sensory overload, and they even use the same tricks. For example, both groups might visualize some far-off destination until it feels "real," or try to mentally climb out of bed (OBE)—the actual sensation is identical. But for some reason, one group realizes they're dreaming, while the other is convinced they've actually drifted into the astral plane.

Since a lucid dream is defined by being aware that you're dreaming, and the people who think they're having an astral projection aren't aware they're dreaming—they actually think the whole thing is happening in real life—I'm not so sure you can call astral projection "lucid dreaming." To me, it sounds more like just a hyper-realistic dream.

True enough. Lucid dreamers know they’re dreaming, astral travelers believe they’re in the astral realm, shamans claim to be wandering through one of three or nine different worlds, and partygoers know they managed to score some top-shelf stuff this time around... meanwhile, anthropologists will tell you the difference isn't found in the insight or the sensation itself, but rather in the cultural framework used to label it. 😬

I can wrap my head around all of them, except for the folks who blindly follow Leadbeater and his crowd instead of just trying things out for themselves to see what’s actually there. A gram of practice is worth more than a ton of theory.

Gregory Jackson said:

Man, I was just thinking about this earlier, but honestly? It’s such a scruffy little thing. Like, seriously, just a total ragamuffin of a pup. I guess you could say it’s looking a bit rough around the edges, if you know what I mean, maybe even a little bit bedraggled. Just one of those messy, unkempt little creatures that somehow still manages to be kind of endearing in its own weird way, I suppose. kaže:
I mean, those worlds he’s always going on about... they don't actually exist, at least not any the way he describes them, I guess. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying things like Devahan or astral planes aren't real concepts out there somewhere, but his descriptions just don't have anything to do with the reality of it all. I actually have that little pamphlet, Devahan Enterprises, sitting around—honestly, I wasn't even interested in it when I was a kid, but I decided to flip through it again last night just to see if it hit differently now that I'm older, but yeah, it was pretty much nothing. For starters, it doesn't really connect to Devahan Enterprises at all; it doesn't offer a single coherent idea about what any of this is, and once you finish reading it, you're probably just left feeling more confused than when you started. It feels like West only heard about the Devahan level from Leadbeater, and then he just took it at face value without having any sort of context or anything else to compare it to, which is kind of wild. The only thing in that whole booklet that actually relates to Devahan is the title itself, and then everyone starts debating whether he actually understood what Devahan meant or if he was just throwing around terms like astral planes to sound smart. But honestly, I don't think Leadbeater knew anything about any of it; he was just spinning his own theories about Devahan and these various planes and whatnot. I've even poked through some of his other writings, and they're all pretty much useless and nonsensical, too. At best, you might walk away with a totally wrong impression because, I suppose, if you don't have a clue what you're talking about, you can just ramble about whatever pops into your head, right? Everything he wrote is just kind of empty and doesn't explain a single thing. I was rereading Devahan Enterprises again last night, and if anyone were to ask me, "Hey, so you read it, what does it actually say about the Devahan level?" I'd probably just stare at them blankly. 🤔🤔🤔 I mean, I guess you couldn't really try to summarize that for anyone, because honestly, there's just nothing there to work with, you know? It’s like trying to explain a blank sheet of paper or something, which probably wouldn't be much of a conversation starter either, I suppose.
I honestly feel like my two previous posts on this thread actually managed to capture more of the essence of Devahan Enterprises—like, you know, that specific aftertaste, the actual flavor profile, even the scent of it all—than what you could ever hope to find in the entirety of Leadbeater's whole body of work, I guess.

I mean, I’ve been sitting here thinking about this, and I’m honestly just so curious, you know? Like, how can anyone even begin to claim that Leadbeater has "mastered Devahan," or maybe just partially mastered those astral planes, when the whole thing is kind of a loop? It’s like, if someone is basing their entire understanding of what Devahan actually is—or even what those astral realms are even about—strictly on what they’ve heard from Leadbeater himself, then doesn't that basically mean they don't actually know anything at all? It feels like they might just be completely and utterly confused on those specific points, I guess.

I mean, I guess I just don't really see any actual contribution from Leadbeater to anything at all, if that makes sense? Like, I've been sitting here thinking about it, and honestly, maybe I'm just missing something, but I truly can't wrap my head around what they're actually bringing to the table.So, look, this guy clearly doesn't have the slightest clue about the astral plane, or how those layers actually work, or even what Devahan is really all about, but he’s managed to stir up such a massive mess that now we’ve got people out here making all these wild claims based on his total nonsense. It's like, they're trying to argue about what he supposedly controlled or didn't control, which is just silly because, honestly, he didn't rule over anything at all, I guess. But hey, if anyone thinks I'm totally off base here, feel free to try and change my mind, I suppose!

So, what are we even supposed to do if we haven't had any of those astral experiences yet, and we don't have any Devahan training either? I mean, I guess you’re probably out there hunting for some kind of super reliable source to guide you, even if that means digging through something like Leadbeater's work. Honestly, there’s actually a lot of good stuff tucked away in his writings, and I really think there's something useful for everyone, regardless of where they are on their path. Like, maybe you can find a specific instruction from a master or just a more advanced student that fits your current vibe, whether you're looking for deep spiritual insights or just something practical that works for someone managing a household or something along those lines. It's all in there somewhere, I suppose.
I mean, Daskalos is honestly incredible and he really speaks from the heart based on his own lived experiences, which I love, but you know, I guess there just isn't any place where you can find his deep dives or concentrated writings specifically about the astral plane or that noetic realm—what he calls the Devahan level. It’s more like you just pick up little bits and pieces of insight here and there while he’s busy explaining other topics, so you have to kind of piece the puzzle together yourself, I suppose.
I mean, honestly, I guess most people don't actually need to get bogged down in all the gritty, nitty-gritty details of the theory itself, you know? It’s more like... maybe they just need that little nudge of perspective regarding what happens after we leave this physical plane, which I suppose could have all sorts of huge implications—hopefully positive ones, anyway—on how we choose to view the world we're living in right now.

Man, I actually had this one experience back when I was a college student that felt totally surreal, like I was caught in some kind of lucid dream or maybe even an astral projection session—I was playing around with this specific technique at the time, you know?—but honestly, by the time I woke up the next morning, I wasn't even sure if I’d just had a wild dream or what actually happened. I never really managed to pull it off again, though I guess I didn't exactly go out of my way to try either, since there are plenty of other ways to level up your practice anyway. But yeah, I always love hearing about what you guys are going through and catching those firsthand accounts from people who actually do this stuff.

Just to jump in and stick up for Leadbeater for a second, I mean, the guy basically said multiple times that trying to put those worlds into words is an almost impossible task, and that any description is probably going to feel pretty hollow or just totally incomplete. So, I guess it’s kind of easy to nitpick if someone really wants to be critical, right? It might actually be more helpful if we could get some recommendations for someone else who maybe handled that kind of world-building a bit better.

It seems to me we’re talking about the exact same state of being; the distinction is really just a matter of semantics. Personally, I tend to lean toward the term 'lucid dreaming' simply because it avoids those heavy-handed paranormal connotations, plus the induction techniques for lucid dreams are much more clearly documented and plentiful compared to the various methods suggested for astral travel.

As for the Theosophists, I suspect they truly did perceive and interact with those layers, those entities, and those elementals... but I also suspect those things don't exist in the same concrete, objective sense that our material reality does.

Paul Rogers94 said:Anyway, your words are incredibly transparent, beautiful, and they actually make sense.

And don't you dare apologize to God, to the public, or even to yourself.
That would be anti-spiritual.

Thanks. Look, at the end of the day, what anyone thinks of anyone else is mostly just noise in the wind, but I suppose it’s still pleasant to realize we’re actually on the same wavelength.

Paul Rogers94 said:If you're going through that cycle over and over, it just means you haven't actually completed it.

And that person swinging back and forth between the internal and external—between the void and the chaos—has also been seen...

That "void" you think you reach by "clearing your mind" is just another part of the mind itself, and it needs clearing too...
So then you see if there’s anything left worth returning to.

Otherwise, your words are very transparent, clear, and beautiful.

Well, I'm not really cycling through it anymore, but I remember what it felt like when I was, you know? I get the underlying mechanics of it. Nowadays... honestly, I just don't care. Whether things feel empty, full, or just a giant mess—I mean, I don't even think about it... it's all pretty much the same to me. I show up here mostly out of sheer habit, kind of like how ghosts haunt old houses—not because I'm looking to gain some profound insight, learn a lesson, or engage in some heated debate. I'm just here because sometimes there's a bit of twisted, dark humor to be found that hits just right. Everything finally clicked into place not because I put in some massive effort, but precisely because I stopped trying so hard. If that makes any sense at all.

Paul Rogers94 said:Look, us non-religious types don't bother cleaning—we hire a maid while we deal with much more important things. Besides, the Devil and I are on friendly terms—more than that, actually. He has his place and his sanctuary in my heart; he works for me, and he lives in a doghouse where he belongs—that Devil is ME.

There’s something about this little miniature that immediately brings Gurdjieff to mind. 😁

Paul Rogers94 said:I wouldn't say they're just copying and following; there's actual consistency there. It's not like a blind chicken stumbling onto a grain of corn every once in a while—there is a logic to what is being said. They don't contradict themselves without reason, which wouldn't be possible without some foundation of true understanding. You can't fake that.

I don't know about quoting, but here are just a few things that meet resistance despite actually being expressions of deeper insight.

That's how the biker puts it; and there are plenty more wise and profound thoughts:

'stilling the mind allows for direct realization and insight'

'what requires the mind isn't spirituality, but rather exactly what needs to be cast aside'

'I've already written somewhere that I have discarded my beliefs several times—once my faith, and a few times the knowledge I identified with. And I would have no problem discarding my current knowledge again...'

🙏

Would you also be able to discard your current beliefs, knowledge, and practices just as easily if there was any truth to them?

And as you clearly know, reasoning is not the path to realization. Isn't that in itself a rare and respectable thing? Or perhaps the act of casting off current knowledge and beliefs is a serious leap toward realization.

Honestly, it gladdens me when someone truly possesses that kind of understanding. 🙂

That sort of genuine insight usually meets massive resistance from those who simply don't get it.

That doesn't mean it shouldn't be put to the test.

The difference is that you, quite rightly, have no desire to engage in an utterly senseless debate with an irrational mind—so you come across like some enlightened autistic. Meanwhile, the biker has a neurotic syndrome or maybe just a "professional deformity"—perhaps some vestige of a certain mental control practice where one stays composed while debating every idiot, even though it's a suicide mission.

Long live the trash. 🤣

Free shrink analysis.

Cheers. There’s a passage in the Gospel... let me paraphrase because I can't be bothered to go hunting for the exact wording... you cast that certain Devil out of a house (or a person), you clean up all the mess he left behind... and then that Devil returns to a tidy, organized space, settles in, and tells you, "Alright, big shot, try kicking me out now."

Of course, we aren't talking about exorcisms or anything like that. It's more that once you discard the contents of the mind—the knowledge, the beliefs, the structures, the ego, the trivial nonsense—you achieve that peace, that insight, that realization... well, then you might get a day or two of enjoying that 'emptiness' before the trash starts piling up again. It settles back in, becomes stronger, more structured, more organized. And then it happens again. And again. And again. It's a bit like breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

So, when someone goes through this process multiple times—which is evident from the fact that they can speak about it in their own words (which, by the way, are much clearer and more transparent than mine)—they need something a little more potent to shock them and kick them out of the structure. If the mold won't do it, the trolls will; that's just how nature works.

George Wood2 said:An interesting observation, 🤣 indeed; except that I agree with the parts I disagree with, offering a secondary perspective that the aforementioned proud moderator hasn't quite grasped yet. Not yet... Mind you. But he copies and follows 🙂, which is pointless 😁 though admittedly clever. Yet, he truly lacks any sense of tact when he abruptly cuts off a spontaneous dialogue in his own secret. 😬
But all of this, it simply is, It is!

He’s clearly a bit insecure, so he tries too hard to project this sense of gravity that honestly ends up being hilarious. Still, you have to admit, the guy has talent.

darkraven said:My bad, I totally misread you there. So you're talking about something similar to what those lucid dreaming forums call 'all day awareness', at least regarding the mindfulness aspect.

Yeah, that’s pretty much the closest comparison. Though, if I’m being honest, I tend to spice things up with all sorts of weird little fantasies just so I don't lose interest... for instance, while I'm standing at the kitchen sink doing the dishes, I'm not exactly just focusing on the sensation of the warm water hitting my hands; I'm usually busy trying to establish some kind of telepathic link with water elementals. Naturally, that leads to dreaming about massive floods and all that chaos. 🤣

Yeah, but I mean during my waking hours. It’s almost like I’m constantly running quality control checks on the structural integrity of reality itself.